HGTV’s ‘Castle Impossible’: Daphne Reckert & Ian Figueira on Their Massive Chateau Renovation Project

Daphne Reckert and Ian Figueira thought they had it all figured out. The married couple would set up roots in a tiny California home. That was until fate intervened and caused them to change course for Paris. The couple decided to put everything into transforming a 500-year-old chateau inherited from Reckert’s grandfather, who passed away in 2020. Their journey is documented in the new HGTV series Castle Impossible. 

The more than 130-acre estate located in a small town just outside the French capital was purchased in 1981. There was a mountain of debt owed including a million in taxes to the French government. Reckert and Figueira put their life savings into keeping the Chateau de Lesigny, which once played host to King Louis XIII. The place they’ve also called Beau Château has served as a venue for weddings and more than 50 French productions. 

They’ll use every bit of their renovation and design backgrounds to transform more than 20 rooms, which is easier said than done when looking to keep within budget in spite of a number of issues including bug infestations and structural obstacles. Reckert and Figueira first look to transform the bell tower space into a luxury bedroom suite (solar room). However, as the premiere demonstrates, seeing their vision realized means overcoming obstacles like potentially costly rotted roof beams and a windstorm. 

Here the high school sweethearts open up about their relationship, challenges and what’s to come. 

Did you take any tips or find any inspiration from Escape to the Chateau as you were jumping into this? 

Daphne Reckert: No, we found out about (Dick and Angel Strawbridge) later. 

Ian Figueira: We became familiar with their show and actually like a lot of what they’ve done. I feel like their approach to renovation and design is not bound or restricted by any ideas. They just have fun with it. That’s really inspiring. 

Daphne: We haven’t had a lot of time for TV or movies. 

How was it having HGTV document your renovation journey? I know you’ve been doing something like this through your YouTube channel, but not on this scale. 

Ian: It’s very different. At first, you meet the crew and eventually it’s like you’re living with the crew. It’s actually been very nice because they’ve all been super supportive and nice. There have been times that were really scary and stressful. Everybody that was here showed up each day and rolled with the punches. It was significantly different from YouTube where I just have my one camera on a tripod. 

Daphne: And it’s just the two of us making the decisions. 

You have a great dynamic and seem to have a great relationship, but how is it managing those difficult times? 

Daphne: I mean rock, paper, scissors pretty much saves us every time. 

Ian: Only if I always choose rock, and we’re good. No, I feel like we almost had to compartmentalize stress because we had different things happening every single day. At the end of day, we just wanted to get some food and go to sleep. We needed to be on the same page about what was coming next. We try to communicate as much as possible. 

Daphne: And remember we are on the same team. 

Ian: And that each of our problems is shared. 

Daphne: It’s almost like the problems are so big at the chateau that we don’t have time to have problems with us. 

Ian: Yeah, if the biggest problem of the day is that I ate the last bit of ice cream, that’s a good day. That’s solid. 

Is there anything you do to escape the chaos of these projects? 

Daphne: We really like outdoor time. We’ll take walks around the lake. We go to the village to have an ice cream or go to the market. We’ll go to Paris every once in a while. 

Ian: Before we really entrenched ourselves with these renovations, we’d go to Paris more often because we’re really close. It’s about 30 minutes by car. The fun is endless in Paris, but once we really kicked up the renovations, it has been overwhelming. 

Daphne: Sometimes what helps it’s good to just go back to California. 

In the premiere, you have to actually deal with trespassers. Is that a regular concern? 

Ian: The thing is the chateau property is about 130 acres total. There are boundaries and fences that cover the whole property, but once you go past the lakes behind the chateau, it kind of turns into forest land. People have found ways or breaks through the fence so they can come in and walk around. Usually, they are just high school kids and we’ll catch them and tell them to leave. We’ve been trying to fix the fences, but every once in a while we’ll find they are broken again. It has been frustrating. 

Daphne: The laws are different in France, so there is not a lot for us to do other than build and rebuild the fences. 

Ian: Although when we catch high schoolers, or sometimes middle schoolers, it’s funny because Daphne will then ask for their mother’s phone numbers to let them know they are there. 

Daphne: Like, “Actually, I have your son here.” 

What kind of challenges do you face this season? 

Daphne: One of the biggest challenges is just how big everything is. We’d do this room, and this room is the size of an apartment or even a small house. That’s what happens time and time again. 

What can you say about the transformations we’re about to see? 

Daphne: I think we’ve surprised ourselves with how wonderful these turned out to be. 

Ian: We started these projects with a very clear idea, and turned into something else. In California, I used to work on houses that I used to consider old if they were from the 1950s and 1960s. Now we’re looking at rooms from the 1660s. It’s like they don’t even have electricity and insulation. The approach to the renovation is a whole different ball game because you’re not just considering how you want the layout to be. It’s how do we correct the layout and bring in accommodations like electricity or heat. 

Daphne: It becomes how do we get electricity from the other side of the chateau to where we need it now.

Ian: It’s a lot of problems like that. It has been wild. 

Daphne: It’s a challenge and wild and fun. 

Ian: And terrifying. 

How has business been since the show announcement? Are you getting more inquiries for it as a wedding venue? 

Daphne: It hasn’t picked up just yet. Maybe after the show airs, that will change. However, when I inherited the chateau, I had to push weddings as much as I could. I managed to triple the amount of weddings we were booking per year. We’re doing about 80 weddings a year now. 

You mention in the show the potential of buried treasure on the grounds. Have you found any? 

Daphne: We’re still looking. 

Ian: What’s fun about this is I actually didn’t understand there being a real mythology of the treasure until Daphne explained the history of the place. It is true in the 1600s, there was someone in close ties to this family. Ones married to the treasurers of France at the time. 

Daphne: Multiple treasurers of France have owned the chateau. 

Ian: This couple specifically was where the husband was shot or stabbed in Paris and the wife…

Daphne: It was a sword duel. 

Ian: Of course it was, so the wife Leonora Dori, who purchased the chateau in 1613, was put to death for witchcraft. They were very rich. The husband being the treasurer. Apparently, before they could seize her, she had a few days. When they did come to seize her, there was no large money they could seize. She did something with that between those days. 

Some people actually believe so much that when Daphne’s grandfather was still alive, they would call him and be very convinced they knew exactly where the treasure was. They would try to see if he would be willing to split the treasure 50/50 if they paid for the tractors to come and open up that piece of land. He always said no because he didn’t want random people digging around his property. 

Are you watching more HGTV now? 

Ian: We’ve definitely been watching a lot more HGTV. There have been a few shows that we learned of after the fact, in addition to Escape to the Chateau now, which has been fun to watch. 

Daphne: In high school, HGTV was on all the time. 

Ian: It’s a great place for inspiration for designs. I feel like all the different shows on HGTV have an educational factor when it comes to renovation or garden, which is something we need. 

Daphne: A little slice of home. 

Do you think life will change for you much after the show premieres? 

Ian: The truth is in France I don’t think they care, so I don’t think it will change our day-to-day. Daphne has seen a few famous actors in Paris before, and nobody gave them a second look when they walked through. 

Daphne: That was pretty funny. 

Ian: We’ll see if people recognize us more now. If they do, great. If not, that’s great too. 

Castle Impossible premiere, April 29, 9/8c, HGTV